


polar plunge (into my heart)

by ImotoChan



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ALSO WOW I DIDNT MEAN TO MAKE THIS HVE 2018 WORDS, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, LITERALLY, M/M, also keith is always cold, inspired by my own experiences, jumping into a cold lake on the first day of the year is always a good idea kids, keith is a volunteer EMT, lance has cold feet, lance is crazy, thats crzay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 20:25:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13255965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImotoChan/pseuds/ImotoChan
Summary: Despite the fact he has at least ten layers of clothing on, Keith shivers. The bitter northeast winters were nothing like the ones back home and he had already begun to regret choosing a university in such a cold place.Not to mention, the people in this town were batshitcrazy.Who in their right mind would dive into an icy lake on the first of January?(Lance, that's who)





	polar plunge (into my heart)

**Author's Note:**

> y'all I love winter this is the first thing I've written in AGEs pls enjoy these dumb kids being dumb

"It's tradition, Hunk!"

 

Keith glares at the teen who whips off his shirt, tossing it in the air with a 'whoop!'. The guy next to him looks extremely uncomfortable, and Keith would bet it's not just because of the freezing temperature.

 

Despite the fact he has at least ten layers of clothing on, Keith shivers. The bitter northeast winters were nothing like the ones back home and he had already begun to regret choosing a university in such a cold place.

 

Not to mention, the people in this town were batshit _crazy_.

 

Who in their right mind would dive into an icy lake on the first of January?

 

In below zero degree Fahrenheit weather?

 

Keith groans, adjusting the hat on his head before crossing his arms and frowning. His gaze returns to the pair of teens from before, noticing how the taller one slowly removes his shirt, the last thing keeping him warm being a pair of swimming trunks. The lanky boy next to him grins, laughing at the pained expression on his companion's face.

 

Keith is about eighty percent certain that the two of them are in his lecture class for Biology. He doubts he could forget anyone as loud as the boy who is currently giving high fives to all the shivering people around him.

 

"Lance is fucking crazy,"

 

Keith jumps, grunting when the person besides him starts to laugh.

 

"Pidge," Keith sounds defeated, close to accepting his death in the cold weather.

 

"You're such a Texan," Pidge hums, somehow warm in nothing but a pair of sweatpants and her trademark green sweater.

 

"I can't believe Shiro convinced me to volunteer," Keith huffs, glancing around for the person responsible for his suffering. He finds him eventually, talking to a woman with long white hair, bundled in perhaps as many layers as Keith.

 

Keith grunts, returning his gaze to the group of people about to run into the lake.

 

"I can't believe you agreed," Pidge offers Keith one of the two cups she had apparently been holding, and Keith takes it happily.

 

"Thanks, Pidge,"

 

"Can't let my lab partner freeze to death, now can I?"

 

Keith chuckles at the joke, sipping the hot chocolate slowly, sighing as it warms up his insides.

 

"Who's Lance?" Keith asks, remembering Pidge's earlier statement.

 

Pidge snorts, nodding her head in the direction of the teen who is currently doing jumping jacks, "He's in our lecture. So is Hunk."

 

The taller boy next to Lance is stretching, a determined look now set on his face.

 

"Oh," Keith frowns, "They're crazy."

 

"That's tradition for you." Pidge shakes her head. "Wouldn't catch me jumping into a lake even in the fucking summer. Full of flesh eating bacteria."

 

Keith glances at her, eyebrows furrowed. "You're so...weird."

 

A wide grin spreads across her cheeks, "And you love me for it!"

 

Keith sighs, letting a small smile slip onto his lips, "I guess."

 

A loud voice echoes through the area and Keith stands up straighter. Cameras begin to record and the group of people about to run in are screaming.

 

"Three, two, one! Happy New Year!"

 

Keith absolutely cannot understand how people can _want_ to do this. He looks at Lance, the teen is grinning when he runs into the lake, and Keith isn't sure whether he should be impressed or not.

 

(He would never admit that the smile on Lance's face is the most adorable thing he has ever seen.)

 

Moments later the group of people run back onto the shore, grabbing towels and blankets to wrap themselves with.  Lance is the last one out, and the woman Shiro was talking to earlier hands him a towel.

 

"Take that twenty-eighteen! I'm gonna make you my bitch!" Lance exclaims, fist pumping.

 

"First you're going to make sure you don't get frostbite! Go with Hunk into the tent and get dressed!" The woman scolds him, shoving what looks like a bag of clothes into his hands.

 

"Alright, alright, Allura, I'm going," Lance takes the clothes, grumbling to himself as he waddles to the tent.

 

Keith had been informed this was the first year the event had got heated tents for the participants, given how incredibly low the temperatures were. Keith keeps on eye on the people who had just been in the water, making sure none of them look like they're about to pass out.

 

"I'm gonna go find Matt," Pidge states, stretching. Keith grimaces when he hears something crack. "Fingers crossed nobody's got hypothermia!"

 

Keith rolls his eyes, waving his friend goodbye before he returns to watching the crowd. He makes eye contact with Shiro, who smiles and waves at him. Keith makes sure his frown deepens before turning away.

 

A tug on his shoulder causes Keith to look back over, "Ulaz? What is it?"

 

The volunteer points to the men's tent, "Could you go look at the guy's toes, his friend's freaking out and thinks he has frostbite."

 

Keith nods, already guessing who Ulaz is talking, "Sure thing."

 

"Thanks, Keith." Ulaz nods before walking over to where Acxa stands near the women's tent.

 

Keith downs his hot chocolate, not surprised at how it was already cold, before heading to the tent. He opens it slowly, peeking his head in.

 

"Hello,"

 

"Oh good, the EMT is here, Lance! Lance, your toes!" Hunk is waving his arms wildly from he sits besides Lance.  

 

"I'm f-fine!" Lance insists, though his chattering teeth and the way he pulls his towel closer to himself says otherwise.

 

"Let me take a look," Keith forces himself to not roll his eyes, shuffling over to where Lance sits in front of the heater. The woman with white hair from before is also in there.

 

Lance looks up from his toes, locking eyes with Keith and immediately groaning, "Mullet head? Seriously!?"

 

Keith frowns, "Excuse me?"

 

"Are you seriously an EMT?" Lance groans, and Keith is pretty sure he whispers something along the line of "is there anything you can't do?"

 

Keith sighs, kneeling in front of Lance, "I took a course over the summer."

 

Lance looks like he's ready to start a fight but Hunk grips his arm, "Let him make sure you're okay first, okay?"

 

Lance grunts defeatedly, "Fine."

 

"How do your toes feel?" Keith asks, noting the way Lance's feet are redder than they should be.

 

"They burn," Lance admits, staring at them, "and kinda sting."

 

Keith nods, pulling a hand warmer out from his pocket and squeezing it so it heats up. He picks up a towel from besides Hunk, holding it in front of the heater before draping it over Lance's toes. He can feel Lance's gaze on him as he moves and it makes him feel odd.

 

"Don't touch them," Keith states, giving one of the hand warmers to Lance. He looks up to meet Lance's eyes, surprised to see how blue they are, "And keep the rest of your body warm. You should be fine."

 

"Thanks, Keith," Hunk smiles at him and Keith nods, deciding he likes Hunk a lot more than Lance.

 

Keith stands, turning to face the woman with them, "Are you family?"

 

"His sister, yes," She frowns, "Sorry he's so...obnoxious."

 

Keith smiles, "Don't worry about it. Just let us know if you need anything else."

 

"Thank you,"

 

Keith waves to the group before leaving the tent, shivering when the wind hits his face.

 

"Next round of participants will be going in in five minutes!"

 

Keith sighs. It was going to be a long day.

 

///

 

"I can't believe him!" Lance huffs as he pulls on his socks, his toes finally feeling normal.

 

Hunk shakes his head, "You clearly have a crush--"

 

"Hunk!" Lance nearly topples over, hopping as he tries to shove his feet into his boots.

 

Hunk laughs, "All I'm saying is you should try talking to him! He seems super nice. You should thank him."

 

Lance grumbles, tying up the laces of his boot. "Maybe."

 

The pair exit the tent, glancing around to spot Allura, as well her uncle Coran. Lance also sees Keith, but chooses to pretend he didn't.

 

Hunk nudges Lance, "Go! Thank! Him!", he whispers.

 

"No!" Lance hisses, shaking his head.

 

"Do it or not Hunk-o-Chocolate hot cocoa tonight," Hunk's tone is serious and it frightens Lance.

 

"You wouldn't," Lance glares at his friend accusingly, arms crossed.

 

Hunk suddenly grins, "Oh! You should invite him! To our New Year's Party. It is tradition."

 

Lance groans, "Exactly! Tradition! Which means it isn't meant to be changed!"

 

Hunk shakes his head, placing a hand on Lance's shoulder, "It's a new year, Lance. A little change is good."

 

With a defeated sigh, because Hunk is pretty much always right, bless his heart and soul, Lance marches over to Keith.

 

"Hi,"

 

Keith turns to face Lance, squinting. Lance thinks the way his pale cheeks are rosy from the cold is not fair, and neither is the way white dustings of snow cling to the ends of his dark hair. Or the way his grey hat sits on his stupid dumb head, and the way his violet eyes slightly widen in surprise is completely, totally, not fair.

 

"Lance? How are your toes?"

 

Lance hears the concern in his voice and it makes his heart skip a beat, "Better, uh, that's why I came over here, I wanted to thank you."

 

When Keith smiles, Lance is pretty sure he just witnessed an angel.

 

"Of course. It's my job to make sure idiots like you don't lose your toes."

 

And _bam_ , the angel is gone.

 

"I'll have you know I have been participating in Lake Altea's New Year's Day Polar Plunge since I was ten years old!"

 

"Like I said," Keith chuckles, "An idiot."

 

"It is a sacred tradition!" Lance shouts, his hands tightened into fists at his sides.

 

"Sounds like a crazy one to me." Keith shrugs, and Lance wants to wipe that smirk off his face.

 

With his mouth.

 

_Oh._

 

Okay, so maybe Hunk was right about the crush thing.

 

"You--!" Lance groans, shoving a finger in Keith's face. "You are coming to me and Hunk's annual New Year's party!"

 

"Huh?" Keith looks confused, his cheeks turning a shade redder than before, and Lance is sure to save the image of a blushing Keith in his mind.

 

"It's at six! You can bring your EMT friends, if you have any." Lance pats himself on the back for that one.

 

"What if I say no?" Keith raises an eyebrow, confusion now replaced with amusement.

 

"I will drag your sorry ass to our apartment and force feed you my _pastelitos_!" Lance states, the finger in Keith's face now waving around.

 

Keith rolls his eyes, "I don't know where you live, Lance."

 

Lance huffs, digging into his pocket and pulling out a pen. Keith doesn't have time to wonder why Lance has a pen in his pocket because his hand is being grabbed and the glove is being removed--

 

"Hey!"

 

Lance grunts, Keith's glove in between his teeth as he holds Keith's hand in his, using his free hand to scribble nine little numbers onto Keith's skin.

 

"There," Lance hands Keith back his glove, "You better text me, mullet-head."

 

"We'll see," Keith slips his glove back on, although he doesn't doubt the first thing he's going to do once Lance leaves is enter the number into his contacts.

 

"I'll send you the address! Thanks again for making sure I didn't lose a toe!" Lance shouts as he runs away from Keith and towards his friends.

 

Keith rolls his eyes, offering a small wave in return, "Goodbye, Lance!"

 

Keith sees Shiro approach him and he swallows nervously, certain that he's gonna be teased.

 

"Aren't you glad you decided to help out today?" Shiro grins, tossing an arm around his younger brother's shoulders.

 

Keith crosses his arms and huffs, though he can't help the small smile on his face. "Maybe."

 

Keith's hand feels warm where Lance had touched it and he thinks that it wouldn't hurt to get to know that warmth, in fact, he thinks he could make it through the rest of the chilly winter with it.

 

(Probably.)

 

**Author's Note:**

> come talk to me @ <http://starbunpng.tumblr.com>


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